La Madeleine closed 2025 with domestic sales of $175.5 million, down more than 10% from the prior year — and now the bakery-café chain is searching for a new leader. John Dillon has stepped down as CEO and president after roughly a year and a half at the helm.

Dillon announced the move on LinkedIn, writing that he closed his chapter with the brand last month. His departure came six months after the launch of "Ignite the Joy," a menu overhaul and transformation plan, and just one week after La Madeleine rolled out a new specialty coffee program with several signature lattes tied to that plan.

The sales picture underscores the challenge facing the next CEO. Technomic data shows the chain ended 2025 with 86 U.S. units, a 5% decline, alongside the double-digit sales drop.

What did Dillon accomplish in 18 months?

In his LinkedIn post, Dillon pointed to operational and growth-focused wins despite the top-line contraction.

• A new brunch menu, new value offerings and an elevated bakery
• A franchise-oriented new prototype design
• The strongest pace of café openings in almost a decade, with a development pipeline to match
• The specialty coffee program introduced last week

"We put hospitality at the center of the cafes, and guest ratings climbed," Dillon wrote.

He also noted that La Madeleine ranked No. 1 among more than 160 brands for Gen Z value perceptions in Technomic's Ignite data — a signal the brand's pricing and value positioning resonated with younger consumers even as overall traffic pressures weighed on sales.

Who owns La Madeleine, and what happens next?

Dallas-based La Madeleine is owned by France-based Groupe Le Duff. The chain did not immediately respond to questions about Dillon's replacement, leaving the succession path unclear.

Dillon did not disclose his next move. He is founder and managing partner of HMS Growth Partners, a growth advisory firm, and did not immediately respond to requests for more information.

He arrived at La Madeleine with deep industry credentials. Dillon spent 16 years with Denny's, most recently as president of that brand, and held marketing roles at Pizza Hut and with the NBA's Houston Rockets.

His tenure reflected the broader pressures captured in Technomic's Top 500 rankings, which show chain restaurant sales slowing again in 2025 as consumers pulled back on dining — even as coffee, beverages, snacks and chicken segments continued to grow. La Madeleine's new coffee program, launched days before Dillon's exit, positions the chain to compete in one of those growth categories.

The next CEO will inherit a smaller footprint, a declining sales base, and a transformation plan — including the franchise prototype and development pipeline — that will need to translate guest-rating gains and Gen Z value perception into unit growth and a sales reversal.